POCAHONTAS;OR, THE INDIAN MAIDEN."BY PAUL PRYOR.NCE upon a time, many, many years ago, there dwelt in the placenow known as the State of Virginia, a tribe of Indians, of whichPowhatan was the chief. They were a brave and powerful tribe, andruled the country for miles around. They had their Indian villages, andtheir customs, and were contented and happy; living in peace with theother tribes, hunting in the season when game was plenty, fishing inthe waters of the rivers that ran through their country, and raising littlepatches of corn. For many years they had lived in this way, until onemorning a ship sailed into their harbor, filled with strange people, from astrange land, who dropped the anchor and secured the sails of their ship,and jumping into their boats, pulled ashore, and planting the Englishflag upon the beach, claimed the land as their own. Soon they landedthe stores from their vessel, and made every thing secure for a long stay.The Indians watched the strangers with fear and surprise, and fled intothe woods. Their home was taken from them, and the land where theirfathers had hunted for a thousand years was no longer theirs. Thecaptain, seeing that the Indians were alarmed, placed his hand upon hisheart to prove to them that he came with peaceful intentions, whenthey came boldly forward to greet him. It was thought, from the con-duct of the Indians on this occasion, that they would permit the whitesettlers to live in peace and quietness; but in a short time this hopewas destroyed. They often came- into the settlement, bringing with themThe Baldwin LibraryI Univ sy

Pocahontas, or, the Indian. Princess.bread, fish, strawberries, and corn, and receiving in return bells, pins,needles, and looking-glasses, with which they seemed to be much pleased.Their visits, however, instead of being made with friendly intentions, weresolely for the purpose of studying the habits of the white settlers, sothat, at the proper time, they might attack them and kill them all.Soon the time arrived for action. One day, while some of the settlershad gone off to explore the country around, the Indians, who had beenwatching them, attacked those who had been left behind, killed andwounded many, and but for the ship in the river firing its gun into thewoods and alarming the savages, not a soul would have been left to tellthe tale.This attack caused the settlers to build a large fort to protect them-selves, and many of them who carelessly ventured out were killed bythe Indians, who were always on the watch, and who then easily escap-ed, being swift runners.Being obliged to remain in the fort, and unable to go out, even toshoot game, soon caused a great scarcity of food; and so loud and frequentwere the complaints, that Captain John Smith determined to start outwith an expedition to examine the country about. He sailed up theriver as far as he could, and leaving seven men in the boat, went onshore with two men and two Indian guides in search of game. Herehe was attacked by a large party of Indians, who, without his knowl-edge, had been following him; his two men were slain, but not until hehad killed two of the Indians with his pistol. The Indians fired theirarrows at him thick and fast; and seeing his danger, he seized his In-dian guide, and binding him fast by the arms with one of his garters,held him in front of him, so that he could use him as a shield. This

Pocahoznas; or, the Indian Princess.action on his part, stopped the Indians from shooting so rapidly, asthey feared they might kill one of their own tribe, but yet many arrowspierced his clothes, and some slightly wounded him. Walking back-wards, trying thus to reach his boat, with the Indian still held in frontof him for a shield, and watching his pursuers all the time, he suddenlysunk to his waist in a creek that was behind him. So fearful were theIndians of the pistol which he still held in his hand, having never seensuch a weapon before, that they would not come near him until he threwit far away, finding, that unless he did so, he would surely die of cold.They then seized him, dragged him to a fire, along side of which histwo companions lay dead, and rubbing his limbs smartly, they, after along time brought back the warmth. He was then led forward to a tree,to which he was tied, and the Indians were about to shoot him withtheir arrows, when the chief, to whom Captain Smith had given a mari-ner's compass, called loudly to them to stop, and showing them the article,it had such an effect upon their ignorant minds, that they released himand marched him off in Indian file to the next Indian village, wherePowhatan lived, and he was seated in his wigwam when Captain JohnSmith was brought in. When the Indians saw him they set up a wildyell of delight. Around Powhatan were seated many of the warriorsof his tribe in their war paint, their bows and arrows by their side,while near him were two young females with gay head-dresses, madeof the down of birds, and around their neck strings of white beads.Here a long talk was held, the savages glancing occasionally towardsCaptain Smith, while the scowl upon their faces too plainly told himwhat his fate would be, and that he might expect no mercy from them.When the talk was over, two large stones were brought and laid one

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Pocahontas, or, the Indzia Princess.upon the other, when Captain Smith was seized by the Indians, draggedto where the stones lay, and while some of them held him so that hecould not move, others seized their war clubs and were about to dashhis brains out, when Pocahontas, the favorite daughter of Powhatan, aa girl only twelve years of age, finding that her father paid no atten-tion to her prayer for his life to be spared, rushed in between the sav-ages, and throwing herself upon her knees, and her arms about thecaptive's neck, laid her head upon his. It was a fearful risk she ran.Already were the knotted and mighty clubs raised in the air, but thehands that held them aloft saw the danger of their chieftain's daughter,and they fell harmless at their feet. She was pale as marble, and spokenot a word, but her beautiful eyes, filled with love and tenderness, gazedupon the Indian chief. His heart was touched, the bands that heldCaptain Smith were cut, the hands that held him opened, Powhatangave the order, and the life of Captain Smith was saved. Two daysafterwards, Powhatan allowed him to depart, and sent Indian guides toshield him from harm. In return for this kindness, Smith was to sendhim two great guns and a grindstone. He treated his Indian guideskindly, and showing one of them, a favorite servant of Powhatan, thearticles agreed upon, gave him leave to take them away, but first loadedand fired one of the guns among the trees, then filled with icicles,when the Indians fled in terror, but soon returned and were loaded withpresents for Powhatan and his wives and children, with which they left,well pleased.Powhatan, having requested Captain Smith to have a house built forhim, such as the white settlers lived in, a party was sent forward tobuild it. The place selected -by the Indian chief for it was on a hill,

Pocahontas; or, /he Indian Princess.from which a splendid view was had of the country around. Here, onthe evening of a dark and gloomy day, Powhatan and his warriors wereassembled. Their talk was low, but long, and earnest. The warriorsrising to their feet, spoke wild words, and their eyes glared like thoseof a wild beast; and then another arose, until all had spoken, whenslowly they left the wigwam of Powhatan, and sought their own huts.It was decided that the white man must die. Not one, or a number,but all; that the pale face might not again be seen in the land. To agloomy afternoon followed a dark, dreary, and rainy night. Not a starwas to be seen, the sky was as black as ink, the wind howled throughthe trees, and the rain fell in such large drops that it stood deep in thepools, and the rivers and streams were swollen. At last the hour ofmidnight approached, and the last spark of the fires in the wigwamsof the Indians had died away, when a little face looked out from theshelter of her wigwam upon the night. She listened, and all was still.Cautiiously she groped her way, and crept, rather than walked, into thewoods. She was alone in the black woods on that dreary night, amongthe wild beasts, without a hand to save her, and still she traveled on, nowrunning in the darkness against a tree, now falling over some brokenlimb, now swimming a stream into which she had fallen; for the nightwas so dark, that she could not see her little hand when she held itbefore her face. Think of it, ye little ones, who read this book; thinkhow frightened you have been when you have found yourselves in yourown room alone in the darkness, but for a minute, and your friendsclose by, and then think of little Pocahontas, a girl only twelve yearsold, in the woods on such a night; for she it was. Many times she losther way; but her Indian habits taught her how to find the right road

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Pocahontas; or, the Indian Princess.again, and at last, after many hours, when nearly tired out, her little feetcut and bruised, her face and arms scratched, she arrived at the settle-ment. Seeking Captain Smith, she told him of the Indian council, andwhat the warriors were about to do. That her father and his braVeswere to give the settlers a great feast, and when they were eating, andtheir weapons were outside the house, they would seize them and killthem all, and that if he would live he must fly at once. Captain Smithwould have given her such toys as a child of her years would like; butshe burst into tears, and saying that if her father saw her with themhe would know what she had done, and kill her, she ran away, as shehad come, into the dark and silent woods. The attempt to kill the set-lers occurred as Pocahontas had stated; but as they were prepared forit, the savages were defeated in their designs. But for this act of Po-cahontas, every white person in the State of Virginia would have beenkilled upon that day. Soon after this, Captain John Smith sailed forEngland. But how was Pocahontas rewarded? We shall see.After Captain Smith's departure, the Indians were more successful, andbolder in their attacks, for they had heard of his sailing, and were re-joiced at it. Many of the settlers were killed and scalped, and manytaken prisoners. Disasters came thick upon the settlers, until at last afamine, to add to their other horrors and sufferings, appeared, and butfor the timely arrival of a ship from England, they would all have died.During this time, Pocahontas, no doubt to escape from the scenes ofblood which everywhere met her eyes, went to live with a king of aneighboring tribe, where, in the solitude and quiet of the woods, shecould pass her days happily. She loved the singing of the birds betterthan the yell of the Indian, and the murmurs of the brook better than

Pocahontas, or, the Indian Princess.the groans of the wounded and the dying. Here she would remain; butthe ingratitude of the white man followed her even to her quiet home.Then it was that Captain Argall, a bold and bad man, arrived in a shipfrom England, and hearing that Pocahontas, the favorite daughter ofPowhatan, was with this king, immediately sent out his men to try andinduce her to come on board his ship, so that he could hold her as aprisoner until Powhatan had given up the prisoners he then held, and theguns and tools he had taken. At this time, the fame of Pocahontas hadreached England, Where she was then known as the "Nonpareil ofVirginia," and everything in any way relating to her and her peoplewas eagerly read. When Pocahontas heard of the arrival of CaptainArgall and the English, she desired very much to visit them, which shedid; and when the Captain heard of her wishes, he induced his brotherto try to get Pocahontas on board his ship; telling him, that by so doinghe would only be assisting in obtaining the release of many prisoners andmuch property that Powhatan now had in his possession belonging tothe settlers. It was agreed, then, that Argall's brother, with his wife,and Pocahontas, should walk with the Captain to the sea-side, and whenthere his wife was to ask his consent to visit the .vessel, which he was torefuse in an angry tone, unless Pocahontas went with her. The plot waswell carried out. Pocahontas at first refused to go on board the ship;but when the lady began to shed tears, she consented. After they hadeaten their supper, and darkness coming on, Pocahontas asked to be putashore, when Captain Argall informed her that she was his prisoner.When she discovered that she had been betrayed, she commenced to cry.Captain Argall, having sent a messenger to Powhatan to inform him ofthe capture of his daughter, and that she could only be released by settingfree the men and giving up the guns captured, took his prisoner with himto Jamestown. Three long months thereafter, Powhatan returned a fewprisoners and some useless muskets; but they refused to give up Poca-

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Pocahontass; or, the Indian Princess.hontas until full satisfaction was given. So offended was Powhatan at this,that for a long time nothing was heard of him, until at last one hundred andfifty settlers, armed thoroughly, went in search of him, taking their captive,Pocahontas, along with them. They met the Indians, whom they foughtand defeated, burning their cabins and destroying everything, until at lastthe warriors begged for peace, which being granted, two of Powhatan's sonswent on board the vessel to visit their sister, Pocahontas. They had heardshe was ill, and even that she was dead, and they were so delighted atseeing her alive and well, that they promised to ask their father to enter intoa peace and remain forever friendly with the English. So ended a long andtedious captivity of Pocahontas. It was, indeed, a cruel one to her whohad done so much for the Colony. Before her release, however, she fell inlove with, and was loved in return, by Mr. John Rolfe, a worthy gentleman.Pocahontas soon had Powhatan, her father, informed of her love and in-tended marriage, at which he was much pleased, and at once consentedthereto, and sent his brother as his deputy to give her away in the church,and two of her brothers to see the marriage solemnized. The result of thissingular marriage was a union of peace between the Indians and the settlers.After their marriage the happy couple sailed for England where, on theirarrival, they were well received by King James and his Court, in a stylesuitable to the rank of Pocahontas, the daughter of King Powhatan,although the king was very angry at Rolfe for marrying a "Princess," with-out first obtaining his consent, such, according to the laws of England,being necessary. Here she remained for some time, not caring to returnto her native land, and on the day before the ship sailed which was to carryher back to America, she died, and was buried at Gravesend. She leftbehind one child who, soon after her death, returned to America, and fromhim are descended many of the first families of Virginia who always speakin loving terms of Pocahontas.As an instance of Pocahontas' merry disposition, (something almost un-

Pocahontas, or, the Indian Princess.known among Indians), it is related, that (at the time) when Powhatan wasabout to be crowned King, Captain Smith, with a few chosen friends, wentto the wigwam of Powhatan to arrange for the ceremony; but beingabsent at the time, they were entertained by Pocahontas and her compan-ions. Making a large fire in a field close by, and seating Captain Smithand his friends on a mat before it, they left them for a short time and thenset up a hideous shout in a large wood adjoining, to which they had gone.Fearing they were about to be attacked, the settlers drew their pistols, andseized several aged Indians to use as shields, which was a common practicein fighting at that time: but Pocahontas seeing them alarmed, steppedtowards them, and said they might slay her if any wrong was intended.Satisfied that no harm was to be done, the English again sat on their matsbefore the fire. Then thirty young women ran out from the woods, theirbodies painted; Pocahontas having upon her head a pair of buck's hornssplendidly polished, an otter's skin at her girdle, and one on her arm; aquiver hung on her shoulder, and she held a bow and arrow in her hand.Of the others, one held a sword, another a club, a third a pot stick, with theantlers of the deer on their heads, and a variety of other ornaments prizedby savages. Rushing out of the woods with the speed of the deer, yellinglike fiends, they ran around and around the fire, dancing and singing foran hour, when they ran back into the woods. Soon again they appeared,and crawling around Captain Smith and his companions, they threw theirarms around their necks, or as many of them as could do so, crying out,"Love you not me ?" Then they brought on a feast, and while somewaited upon them, others danced and sang until at last with blazing torchesthey escorted them to their lodgings.For beauty and intelligence, Pocahontas was as far above her race asthe mountain is above the valley. She had great influence, not onlywith her own tribe, but with the white settlers, a circumstance that her"father often availed himself of by using her as a messenger in times of

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Pocahontas, or, the Indian Princess.danger, and to quiet the whites when they were excited over some freshIndian outrage. On one occasion, Powhatan, hearing that some of histribe were held as prisoners at Jamestown, sent her with presents of deerand some bread to ask for their release. Captain Smith released them,and loading Pocahontas with many presents sent her back to her father.During her stay in England she again met Captain Smith, who was wellknown at Court, and who had written a book about her and presented itto Queen Anne. Hearing that she was staying near London, he wentwith several friends to see her. After modestly bowing to him, and withoutsaying a word, she turned away and hid her face in her hands, in whichposition she remained some time. At length she began to talk, and toldCaptain Smith of the kindness she had shown him in Virginia, saying:"You did promise Powhatan, what was yours should be his, and he thelike to you; you called him father, being in his land a stranger, and forthe same reason so must I call you." Captain Smith would not consent tobe so called, fearing the jealousy of the King, as Pocahontas was "a King'sdaughter." Then she exclaimed: " Were you not afraid to come into myfather's country, and cause fear in him and all his people (but me), andfear you here that I should call you father? I tell you that I will, andyou shall call me child, and I will be forever and ever your country-woman. They did tell us all you were dead, and I knew no other till Icame to Plymouth; yet Powhatan did command my uncle to seek youand know the truth, because your countrymen will lie much."And thus ends the history of Pocahontas. She sleeps beneath theEnglish turf among the people she loved so well. She is the loved of twogreat nations, and if you would know how many hearts keep her memorygreen, "count the stars in the heavens, the leaves on the trees, and thesands on the sea-shore."